Oslo Gets Serious About Micromobility

Oslo / Norway

The City of Oslo has seen a 77% increase in bicycle traffic since passing a dedicated bicycle strategy in 2015. They were previously building just 1.5 kilometres of separated cycling infrastructure per year which was increased 10 fold to over 15 kilometres per year.

This is about to double again as they’ve issued an updated mandate to build an extra 100 kilometres by 2023.

The city’s bike-sharing service is a particular success story. The scheme has more than 3000 bikes available, with 2.2 million trips registered in 2019.

Year Round Cycling, Even Through Snow

Oslo has a strong focus on road maintenance, which complemented by winter cycling campaigns, has drastically contributed to higher numbers of winter cyclists. A priority network of bike lanes was established for high-level winter maintenance, which in its first three years of operation has resulted in an 78% increase in cycling traffic during the winter months. Oslo also piloted a new subsidy scheme for studded winter tires, as an incentive to encourage new winter cyclists. The scheme was a big success, with more than 5000 people applying in less than a week.

Oslo has recently become the 36th member of the European Cycling Federation’s Cities and Regions for Cyclists.

This is part of a longer article published on at www.ecf.com